One commonly used gobo comprises a sheet of metal having a desired image cut out of the sheet. When the sheet is placed in a beam of light, the portion of the beam that passes through the sheet is shaped to correspond to the image.
Another commonly used gobo for creating artistic lighting effects comprises a metal coated glass disc with a portion of the coating etched in the shape of an image. When the disc is placed in a beam of light, the portion of the beam that passes through the disc is shaped to correspond to the image.
In the past, oils of various colors and viscosities were also used to create artistic colored lighting effects when a beam of light was passed through a plate or disc which contained the oil. For example, it is known that some hot oil projection was accomplished through the combination of an overhead projector and oils of various colors and viscosities contained in a transparent plate which when moved, caused the moving colored oils to translate to projected moving color patterns.
Also, it is known that a transparent disc having a plurality of segregated cavities therein, which contained various colored oils, was inserted into the path of a light beam and rotated to create animated, artistic colored lighting effects.
A major consideration of using such oils is that the oils must not be overheated by the light beam. Today's lights are of high watt density and high energy. Therefore, the oil selected must be low absorbing with regard to the energy passed though it, i.e. it must have a high operating temperature, so that it can survive with a high amount of energy passing through it via the light beam.
The foregoing illustrates limitations of the known prior art. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations as set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features and benefits more fully disclosed hereinafter.